The history of the short story

The short story was invented as soon as human beings could talk. One day, one of the first hunter-gatherers went out and had a close encounter with a sabre-toothed tiger. When he came back he gave his family a lurid account of what had happened, no doubt with a little exaggeration thrown in. Later, his wife told the story to some of the other men’s wives while they were doing the cooking. And so on. In other words, the short story began as a tale told orally, often around the campfire.
(Michael Allen)

Have you ever wondered about the history of the short story? Well, some people have! Please, take a look at the links below:

http://grumpyoldbookman.blogspot.com/2005/03/official-history-of-short-story.html

http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/pdfarticle.php?id=7447

http://www.bradsreader.com/brads_reader/2008/08/history-of-the.html